Girl, InterruptedBased on the book By Susanna Kaysen

Psy101 PV203Rick Cucuzza

Borderline Personality Disorder Definition

Borderline personality disorder is a mental health disorder that causes major emotional instability. This can lead to a variety of other traumatic mental and behavioral issues. A distorted self-image and feelings of worthlessness are present. Anger, impetuosity and numerous mood swings may impair close relationships.

Borderline Personality Disorder Causes

Genetics: Studies of twins and families propose that personality disorders may be hereditary. In the movie the psychiatrist stated that it was 5 times higher being inherited.

Environmental factors: Many people with borderline personality disorder have a history of childhood abuse, neglect and separation from caregivers or family.

Brain abnormalities: Some research has revealed changes in certain areas of the brain involved in emotions, impulsivity and anger. Also, certain brain chemicals that help control mood, such as serotonin, may be regulated poorly.

Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms

Impulsive and risky behavior, such as unsafe sex, gambling sprees or illegal drug use

Understanding of destructive tendencies, including self-damage, but unable to control it

Uncontrollable mood swings Short but intense bouts of apprehension and despair Inappropriate anger, sometimes escalating into

physical fights Difficulty controlling emotions or impulses Suicidal tendencies Feeling misunderstood, abandoned, alone, or hopeless Feelings of self disgust and self repugnance

Borderline Personality Disorder Treatment

Psychotherapy Dialectical behavior therapy: Designed specifically to treat borderline

personality disorder. Generally done through individual, group and phone counseling, DBT uses a skills-based approach combined with physical and meditation-like exercises to teach you how to regulate your emotions, tolerate distress and improve relationships.

Cognitive behavioral therapy: Work with a therapist to become aware of inaccurate, negative or ineffective thinking; view challenging situations more clearly and objectively; and search for and put into practice alternative solution strategies.

Mentalization-based therapy: A type of talk therapy that helps you identify and separate your own thoughts and feelings from those of people around you. MBT emphasizes thinking before reacting.

Schema-focused therapy: It combines therapy approaches to help you evaluate repetitive life themes so that you can identify positive patterns and change negative ones.

Transference-focused psychotherapy: Also called psychodynamic psychotherapy, TFP aims to help you understand your emotions and interpersonal difficulties through the developing relationship between you and your therapist, which are then applied to ongoing situations.

Medications: They can't cure it, but they can help with depression and anxiety. They may include antidepressants, antipsychotics and anti-anxiety drugs.

Hospitalization: To keep you safe from self-injury or suicidal behaviors.

This movie is a story of a young woman diagnosed with Borderline Personality

Disorder

Committed to Hospital

In 1967, 18 year old Susanna Kaysen was committed to Claymoore Hospital after taking an overdose of aspirin, followed by a bottle of booze. She denied that she had tried to commit suicide but her doctor recommends she “gets some rest” and sends her there for treatment.

She quickly befriends several of the inmates

Her main influence is Lisa, a diagnosed Sociopath

They find she has been on the verge of suicide since she got out of Claymoore

Their friend Daisy gets released, so Susanne and Lisa decide to escape and

visit her

While they spend the night with her, she finishes the job

There are several disruptions during her stay in the ward as all the girls have

much more severe issues than Susanna

Susanne is prompted by her head nurse to write out her thoughts and share them

with her doctor. She does this, as she wants to be a writer and can express

herself clearly.

After 18 months in the hospital she is re-evaluated and released back into society. She becomes a writer and publishes a work

depicting her story.

Favorite quotes from the movie

“Crazy, is you or me amplified” “How am I supposed to recover if I don’t understand the

disease?” “Don’t drop anchor here”

References

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/borderline-personality-disorder/DS00442 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borderline_personality_disorder